Belal Muhammad backs Robert Whittaker, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho getting title shot before Sean Strickland
Belal Muhammad and Sean Strickland's contentious rivalry will seemingly never end. In its latest development, Muhammad delivered another stab at the former middleweight champion by saying he does not deserve the next title shot.
Muhammad responded to a fan on X saying that Robert Whittaker, Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho all deserved the next shot at champion Dricus Du Plessis over Strickland. 'Remember the Name' quote-tweeted the post, saying there were "no lies" in the fan's opinion.
Muhammad tweeted:
"No lies detected"
Muhammad and Strickland have periodically gone back and forth on social media for several years. Both fighters took shots at the other for their alleged unexciting fight styles while Muhammad has openly stated his distaste for the American's controversial personality.
Although they compete in two separate divisions and are unlikely to ever fight each other, the 36-year-old welterweight champion claims he offered to fight 'Tarzan' on short notice in 2021 but Strickland rejected the matchup.
Regardless of Muhammad's opinion on Strickland as the next title challenger, the 33-year-old appears to be in line for a rematch with Du Plessis with Dana White saying that ufc-middleweight-title-set-face-israel-adesanya-vs-dricus-du-plessis-winner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">he deserves the fight.
Belal Muhammad's next opponent
Since becoming the welterweight champion at UFC 304, Belal Muhammad has been vocal in his intent to fight again before the end of 2024. Immediately after winning the belt, 'Remember the Name' mentioned Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman as potential next opponents whom he would like to fight in December.
Muhammad doubled down on the sentiment in following interviews, claiming that he is eyeing UFC 310 as his return.
As of August, the Palestinian-American does not have his first title defense confirmed by the UFC with all current reports merely speculative. The UFC has not announced any pay-per-view fights beyond UFC 308 in October but is widely expected to confirm the UFC 309 main event in the coming weeks.